Here are some unusual, advanced English conversation topics for those students who have talked about everything before. These topics are great for conversation starters in class. They are also good for some interesting online class conversation topics for advanced students.

1. Misbehavior

1. What type of child were you? Were you a naughty child? Quiet child? Clever child?
2. If you have siblings, what kind of children were they?
3. Who did you respect the most in your family when you were a child and why? Did you always listen to that person? Why or why not?
4. Did you behave differently at school versus at home when you were a child? Why or why not?
5. Did you ever get into trouble when you were a kid? What is something you did? What happened?
6. Would you consider yourself a troublemaker as a teenager? Why or why not?
7. When you were younger, were your classmates a good or bad influence? Why?
8. How should parents deal with misbehavior? Why?
9. What do you think teachers should do with misbehaving children? Why?
10. Actress Julie Walters said, “It seems that when you get to a certain age you almost give yourself permission to misbehave and say what you think. People allow it, with very old people.” What do you think about this quote? Do you agree? Why or why not?

2. Superstitions

1. Have you heard of these superstitions before? Do you believe in them? Why or why not?
   1. If you break a mirror, you’ll get 7 years bad luck.
   2. You will be unlucky, if a black cat crosses your path.
   3. It is lucky to find a four-leaf clover.
2. What are some common superstitions about good luck and bad luck in your country?
3. Are there any superstitions in your country surrounding holidays? For example, you can blow out candles on a birthday cake and make a wish, but if you tell anyone, the wish won’t come true.
4. Who is more superstitious, younger people or older people? Why?
5. Who is the most superstitious person you know? Why do you consider them superstitious?
6. What are some superstitions that you know from other countries?
7. Are superstitions harmful? Why or why not?
8. Can superstitions be fun? Why or why not?
9. Do you own anything that you consider “lucky?” If yes, what is it? And why is it lucky? If not, why not?
10. What do you think about superstitions in sports? For example, some players have rituals for game days, like always wearing their lucky socks or always having a special meal before the game.
11. Groucho Marx said, “If a black cat crosses your path, it signifies that the animal is going somewhere.” What do you make of this statement?

3. Entrepreneurship

1. If you could start your own business, what kind of business would you start? Why?
2. Do you know anyone who has started their own business? Tell me about their business.
3. Is entrepreneurship a popular dream in your country? Why or why not?
4. Where do most people shop in your country: local businesses or big businesses? Why?
5. Do you think it is important to support small businesses? Why or why not?
6. What type of local businesses do you go to? Why?
7. Do you think it’s worthwhile for small businesses to have a social media presence? Why or why not?
8. What are the pros of owning your own business? What are the cons?
9. Is it better to be a boss or employee? Why?
10. If you were to start your own business, what steps would you have to take?
11. Sallie Krawcheck, a co-founder of Ellevest said, “If you’re starting something on your own, you better have a passion for it, because this is hard work.” What does this statement mean to you? Do you agree? Why or why not?

4. Childhood trends

1. What clothing was cool when you were a child? Did you ever own that clothing? Why or why not?
2. How about as a teenager? 
3. What toys were cool when you were a kid? Did you like those toys? Why or why not?
4. Was makeup popular when you were a teenager? If yes, what type of makeup? If not, why not?
5. How did people wear their hair when you were younger? Did you like that style?
6. What games were trendy when you were a kid? Did you play those games? Why or why not?
7. What do you think about today’s fashion trends? Why?
8. What toys are popular with kids nowadays? What’s your opinion about those toys?
9. Do you think any of the trends from your childhood are going to come back in style? Why or why not?
10. If you could give some advice about trends, what advice would you give? Why?

5. Interior Design

1. When you are buying furniture, what do you look for? Comfort? Practicality? Style?
2. Where do you buy most of your furniture? Why?
3. Have you put a lot of thought into the interior of your house? Why or why not? 
4. Who has chosen most of the furniture in your house?
5. What are the colors of the interior of your house? Did you choose those colors? If yes, why?
6. Are you a fan of minimalism? Why or why not?
7. What do you think about open-plan living? Why?
8. Have you ever bought furniture off of Facebook, Craigslist, or a similar website where you can buy used furniture from people online? If not, would you consider buying used furniture online?
9. Are garage sales or sidewalk sales popular in your country? Have you ever gone to one? If not, would you consider going to one?
10. Do you like watching house or apartment tour videos? Why or why not?
11. What’s your opinion about design TV shows? Are they popular in your country? Why or why not?
12. Do you like IKEA or similar cheap, practical furniture shops? Why or why not?
13. Do you think you could be an interior designer? Why or why not?
14. What’s your opinion about house plants? Do you prefer fake house plants or real house plants?
15. Is lighting important to you in your house? Do you prefer natural lighting or artificial lighting? Why?
16. What’s the most important room in your house? Why?
17. What makes the houses in your country special? Do they have anything special in the kitchen, have special architecture, or special windows/flooring? What do you consider special about the houses in your country?

6. Animal Rights

1. How do you feel about zoos? Why?
2. Are there any animals that shouldn’t be kept as pets? Why or why not?
3. Do you think animals feel? Why or why not?
4. Can animals communicate? Why or why not?
5. How do you feel about testing on animals?
6. Whose responsibility is it to protect endangered animals? Why?
7. How do you feel about betting on animal fights?
8. What are your thoughts on racing animals?
9. Would you ever become a vegetarian? Why or why not?
10. How about a vegan? Why or why not?

7. Parenting

1. Should parents control the types of TV shows, movies, and music a child hears and watches? Why or why not?
2. Do you believe that it is possible to spoil children? Why or why not?
3. Should parents help their children choose their professions? Why or why not?
4. What are some common punishments in your country? Do you agree with them? Why or why not?
5. Do you agree with spanking? Why or why not?
6. At what age should children get a cell phone? Why?
7. Should vacations be for parents, children, or both? Why?
8. Do you think that there is such a thing as “too much freedom” for children? Why or why not?
9. Do you think that parents are overprotective nowadays? Why or why not?
10. Have you heard the phrase “helicopter parent?” Why do you think about that concept?
11. What do you think of the phrase, “Children should be seen and not heard?”
12. What do you think about the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child?”

8. Service Jobs

1. What are some common types of service jobs?
2. Do you consider service jobs to be “good” jobs? Why or why not?
3. Have you ever worked a service job? If yes, what did you do? If not, would you like to do a service job?
4. Do you think service jobs are respected in your country? Why or why not?
5. Is tipping common in your country? What do you think about tipping?
6. What are some necessary skills to have in a customer service job? Why?
7. Do you think that robots could do some service jobs in the future? Why or why not?
8. Are service jobs more or less stressful than office jobs? Why?
9. What do you think about the phrase, “The customer is always right?”

9. Fashion

1. What is fashionable in your city nowadays? Do you like the current fashion? Why or why not?
2. Have you ever bought something because it was fashionable? Did you like what you bought?
3. Have you ever bought something and then not worn it? If yes, what was it and do you still have the item?
4. Do you have any fashion regrets?
5. What’s something that was fashionable when you were younger, which isn’t fashionable now?
6. Do you and your family have different fashion tastes? Why or why not?
7. What do you think fashion will look like in the next ten years or so? Why?
8. Why do you think people like designer brands? Are you a fan of any designer brands?
9. What’s most important to you when buying new clothes and why?
10. Do you like to accessorize? Why or why not?
11. If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?

10. Environmental Choices

1. Nowadays many people are more conscious of the environment. Have you noticed any changes in your community recently in regard to the environment?
2. Eating meat is often said to be a contributing factor to global warming. Would you ever consider cutting back on meat? Why or why not?
3. How about cutting meat out?
4. Another environmental concern is plastic. Would you ever consider going zero-waste? Why or why not?
5. Plastic is also in our clothes. Would you spend more money for ethically sourced clothing? Why or why not?
6. Water waste is another common concern. Would you be willing to have shorter showers or cut back on the water you use to wash dishes? Why or why not?
7. Would you ever try composting? Why or why not?
8. The plastic containers for products like shampoo, body wash, detergent, and other household products are another environmental concern. Would you be willing to use bar soap instead of soaps that come in plastic containers? Why or why not?
9. How would you feel if supermarkets stopped packaging products like rice, fruits, pastas, etc. and you had to start bringing containers from home to package these items? Would you be relieved or annoyed and why?

I hope you and your students enjoyed speaking about these unusual conversation topics.

Why not try some FCE speaking practice next?